Dispensing container



F. J. HOPF DISPENSING CONTAINER Feb. 27, 1968 Filed Ju1y'25. 196

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORI FRLTZ HOFF mwmwwmzgwdwz Feb. 27, 1968 F. J. HoPF 3,370,774

DISPENSING CON TTTT ER @MQW United States Patent O 3,370,774 DISPENSING CONTAINER Fritz J. Hopf, Ardmore, Pa., assignor to Hartman-Leddon Company, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 25, 1966, Ser. No. 567,644 17 Claims. (Cl. 229-44) This invention relates to a container, and more specifically, to a container particularly suitable for use in the shipping and storing of uid materials and in the dis- -pensing of such materials as they are needed.

As is well known, plastic bags are becoming increasingly popular in the marketing of laboratory chemicals because of their strength, light Weight, and low cost and because the contents thereof may be discharged without venting of such collapsible bags, thus avoiding air contact with the chemicals which in some cases might alter their efectiveness. While such bags are collapsible and therefore substantially non-breakable, they must still be encased within rigid enclosures during shipment, handling, and storage, not only to reduce the possibilities of damage to such bags and their contents, but also to facilitate stacking and handling of the containers. Normally, the enclosing means takes the form of a generally rectangular carton formed of tough and rigid corrugated chipboard or cardboard. While such a carton provides adequate protection for handling, shipping, and storing of the chemical-containing bag therein, it nevertheless renders the contents of the bag less accessible to a user and often tends to interfere with the dispensing of such contents. Not infrequently, a laboratory technician or other user must, in order to empty such a bag, must remove the bag completely from the carton, or at least tip and hold the carton in the direction of the bags drain opening.

Therefore, it is an important object of the present invention to provide a dispensing container for llowable materials Vwhich enjoys the advantages of prior containers without also having the aforementioned defects and disadvantages thereof. Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing container which may be easily and quickly positioned and arranged by a user so that a exible bag contained therein will be effectively supported for the dispensing of all of the contents thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing carton or container composed of a plurality of telescoping parts which are locked against sliding movement with respect to each other during shipment and storage but which may be quickly shifted into suitable positions for the effective and complete dispensing of the flowable contents thereof when use of the contents is desired. A further object is to provide a container having components which may be readily separated and/ or shifted into relative positions suitable -for the dispensing of the containers contents, one of the components functioning as stable support means for the remaining components of the container during the dispensing of the ilowable contents thereof. l

A Istill `further object is to provide a container for liquid chemicals and other flowable materials which `may be easily opened and adjusted by 4a user for the dispensing of such materials, and which requires no further adjust- "ice ment throughout the dispensing of the entire contents of such container. Another object is to provide a dispensing container in which .Window means is provided for determining the liquid level of the contents thereof and which, despite such window means, provides a secure protective enclosure for the liquid contents thereof during handling and shipment. A further object is to provide a dispensing container having a -llexible bag and a strong protective enclosure for such bag so that strong acids, corrosives, and other dangerous chemicals may be safely and legally packaged and shipped.

Other objects lwill appear from the specification and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a container embodying the present invention, the container being illustrated in fully closed condition;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective View similar to FIGURE 1 but showing the container with the cove-r lifted upwardly therefrom;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the container with .the shipping carton fully removed from the inner carton and sleeve;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view illustrating la step in the adjustment of the container for the purpose of dispensing the content-s thereof;

FIGURE 5 'is a broken perspective view showing, for purposes of ilustration only, the inner carton and bag as they would appear in FIGURE 4 if the sleeve shown in IFIGURE 4 were completely removed;

vFIGURE 6 is a perspective View illustrating the structure of -FIGURE 4 in inverted condition and with a dis- -pensing hose or tube attached thereto;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective View ilustrating the structure in :fluid dispensing position, resting upon a support surface;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view illustrating a modiiication of the present invention;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective View similar to FIGURE 8 but showing the container wit-h its supporting legs extended;

FIGUR-E 10 is a perspective view showing the container of FIGURES 8 and 9 in vduid-dispensing position.

In 4the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 7, the numeral 11 generally designates a container for liquid chemicals or other owable materials. The container essentially comprises an outer shipping carton 112, an inner carton 13 (FIGURE 5), a support sleeve 14, and a collapisble bag 1'5.

While the structure of the present invention is Well suited for use in combination with a flexible and collapsible bag, it is not essential that the innermost container element 15 take the form of a bag. For purposes of the present invention, component 15 might take the form of a rigid container; however, for practical purposes a collapsible and substantially non-breakable container which requires no venting is far superior for the shipment, storage, and dispensing of chemicals and is, for that reason, illustrated in the drawings hereof. As shown in FIGURE 5, the collapsible bag 15 is of generally square or rectangular shape and has an outlet 16 provided in its top wall 15a. Preferably, the top wall of the bag is pre-formed so that when dispensing is desired and the bag is inverted, the outlet portion may be pulled downwardly to form a sumpinert, tough, exible, and substantially transparent. Transparency as used herein is intended to include any material which permits enough light to pass therethrough for viewing the liquid level within the bag and, therefore, encompasses at least some materials which might be deemed `translucent, as Well as materials which are clear.

Inner carton 13 is also of rectangular shape having top, bottom and side panels or walls 13a-13C, alll formedV and folded from a single sheet of'chipboard, cardboard, orV

other board material. In FIGURE 5, it will -be seen'that one of the side panelsV 13a` is providedwith a vertically elongated opening orV window 17 through which bag 15 may be viewed and, since the bag is formed of substantially transparent material, the liquid level of the bags contents may be observed through the window. The top panel 13a of the inner carton is provided with a circular aperture 18 in axial alignment with the outlet 16 of bag and a tiexible cover 19 may be removably fitted within theopening, as shown most clearly in FIGURE 3. The size relationship of the inner carton 13 andv bag 15 is such that when the bag is substantially completely filled, it occupies almost all of the space within the inner carton. Therefore, if the inner carton is restrained against Amovement with respect to the support sleeve 14 and outer carton 12, then the fluid-containing bag 15 will be held securely in place. Y

Support sleeve 14 is open at its upper and lower ends and has side walls 14a which extend about, and snugly but slidably receive, the inner carton 13. The sleeve has an upper end portion 20 and a lower body .portion` 21, and is horizontally cut at 22 to permit the inward folding of the corners of the upper portion during fabrication and assembly of the container. The result is that the sleeve, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, has indented corner portions 20a which merge at right angles with the remaining portions 2Gb of upper sleeve section 20 along vertical fold lines 20c. Y

The lower body portion 21 of the sleeve is of substanltially the same height as inner carton 13 and, as shown inY FIGURE 3, a side wall of that sleeve has a vertical Vopening or window 23 in register with the opening orV sembled as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. The indented lcorner portions serve as stop elements which effectively prevent upward sliding movement of the inner carton within the sleeve beyond the position illustrated in FIG- URE .3. The inner carton may, however, slide downwardly within the sleeve, as shown in FIGURE 4. Corner slits 24, parallel with and spaced below slits 22, dey tine secondary support portions 25 which may be folded .inwardly along fold lines 25a into vertical alignment with indented corner portions 20a, as illustrated in FIGURE 4.

It will be observed that the upper portion 20 of the support sleeve 14, together with the top wall 13a of the inner carton, define a space or recess 26 in which a suitable drainage tube and cap assembly 27 may be stored during shipment and until the contents of the container are to be dispensed. One side wall portion 2Gb of the sleeves upper section is provided with an aperture 27a, the aperture preferably being disposed in the side wall of the sleeveinwhich window opening 23 is provided. A pair of lhandle openings 28 may be formed in other side wallsrof the sleeve.

The outer carton 12 simply encloses the inner carton 13 and sleeve 14 in the manner illustrated in FIGURES 1-3. As illustrated in the drawings, the outer carton lhas top, bottom and side panels 12a-12C, respectively, all of rectangular shape and of a size suflicient to define a 4. chamber 29 which snugly but slidably receives the assembled inner carton and sleeve. The interior height of outer carton 12 is substantially identical to the height of support sleeve 14. Therefore, when the outer carton is sealed, the inner carton is held firmly against vertical movement therein. Specifically, the inner carton is restrained against upward sliding movement by the indented corner portions 20a of the sleeve which in turn engage the undersurface of the outer cartons top panel 12a, and

by the outer cartons bottom panel 12b upon which the inner carton rests.

The outer carton is provided with handle openings 30 in register with similar openings 28 in the support sleeve. Thus, in handling of the sealed container, the ngers may be slipped through Yboth of the aligned openings to obd tain a secure grip upon the container. It' will be noted that the fingers may pass -into the space 26 betweenthe top outer surface of the inner carton and the top inner surface of the outer carton, such space otherwise being yused only -for storage of the drainage tube 27 and other components which Imight be found desirable in connection with the dispensing of materials from the container.

As shown in :FIGURE l, the side walls `12C of the outer carton are provided with a tear strip 31- which ex tends about the carton below handle openings 30. In the illustration given, the tear strip lis spaced immediately beneath the opening; however, it may if desired be positioned in close proximity to the bottom of the' outer carton, or at any other selected position between the bottom of the outer carton and handle openings 30.

In use of the container, the chemical supplier tills the plastic inner bag 15, packs it Within inner carton 13, as shown in FIGURE 5, fits sleeve 14 over the inner carton as shown in FIGURE 3, and then seals all lof such parts within the outer shipping carton 12, placing a suitable' sealing tape 32 over the ldivided top panel 12a of the shipping carton in order to maintain it in closed condition. While tape is shown, other sea-ling means such as staples may alsok be used. During shipment and handling, the filled plastic bag is fully protected by the multiple layers of corrugated board material extending thereabout. The container is, nevertheless, easy to handle and carry because of the handle openings 28-30 extending through the side walls of the sleeve and outer carton. n

When the container reaches its destination and use of the chemical contained therein as is desired, tear strip 31 is simply pulled to permit separation of the upper and lower sections of the outer shipping carton, as illustrated in vFIGURE 2. Thereafter, the user withdraws the'support sleeve and inner carton from the stripping container,

(FIGURE 3), removes cover plate 19 to expose the outlet 16 of the plastic bag, pulls the neck of the outlet upwardly so that it extends through aperture 18, connectsV drainage tube and cap'assembly 27 to the outlet (after the original capthereof vhas been removed), and then simply inverts the entire assembly so that the outlet faces downwardly and the inner carton rests upon the edges of indented corner portions 20a of the support sleeve.

If additional space beneath inner carton 13 is considered necessary or desirable to accommodate theV downwardly pulled outlet portion of the plastic bag, or for any other reason, then before inverting the assembly the support sleeve may be slid upwardly into the position shown in FIGURE 4 and the secondary corner portions 25 of the sleeve may be urged inwardly into alignment with indented corner portions 20a. Thereafter, when the sleeve and inner container are inverted into the position shownl in FIGURES 6 and 7, an enlarged space will be provided between the undersurface of the inner carton and the tablesurface or other supporting surface upon which the sleeve rests. Complete discharge of the entire contents of bag 15 may therefore be readily achieved without kinkf ing the drainage tube and without tipping the entire assembly, or removing the plastic bottle from the inner carton and sleeve.

FIGURES 8 through 10 illustrate a structure which is identical to the container already described except that a spigot 34 is substituted for drainage tube and cap 27, and that one side wall 14a of sleeve 14 is die cut along lines 35, 36 and 37 to dene outwardly foldable feet 38. As shown in FIGURE 8, die cut lines extend upwardly and laterally from the lower edge of side wall 14a until they intersect horizontal die cut lines 36. Line 35, if projected beyond line 36, would intersect with a projection of the vertical edge 39 of the sleeve at the point Where the projection of that vertical edge meets at right angles with a lateral projection of the side walls top edge 40. The result is that when the foot flaps 38 are extended and the container is tipped on its side, as shown in FIGURE l0, edges 25 of the feet will engage a table surface or other supporting surface along a substantial portion of their full extent. Tab portions 38a, defined in part by die cut lines 35, 36 and 37, and also by fold line 41, are turned inwardly as illustrated in FIG- URE 9 to stabilize the feet 38 when the same are eX- tended (FIGURE l0). With the feet so extended and the container tipped on its side as shown in FIGURE 10, spigot 34 may be operated to drain all but a small portion of the contents from the container without any further repositioning of that container.

It is to be understood that except for the spigot and foot flaps, the structure illustrated in FIGURES 8-10 is identical to the structure shown and described with respect to FIGURES l-7. Thus, the sleeve and inner carton of FIGURE 8 are adapted to be enclosed within an outer shipping carton 12 as shown in FIGURE 1. If desired, the space 26' of the second embodiment may be utilized to hold both a spigot 34 and a drainage tube 27 during shipment and storage of the container, so that the user may elect to dispense the contents of the container by use of the spigot, as illustrated in FIGURE 10, or by use of the drainage tube, as shown in FIGURES 6 and 7.

While in the foregoing, embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in considerable detail for purposes of illustration, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many of these details may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A dispensing container comprising an outer carton having top, bottom, and side panels; a support sleeve disposed within said carton; said sleeve being open at its upper and lower ends and having side walls in surface engagement with the inside surfaces of the side panels of said outer carton; an inner carton having top, bottom, and side panels and being disposed within said sleeve and with the side panels thereof in slidable engagement with the side walls of the sleeves; the height of said outer carton and sleeve being substantially the same, and the height of said inner carton being substantially less than that of said sleeve; means for opening said outer carton to permit removal of said sleeve and inner carton therefrom; the side walls of said sleeve having indented corner portions at one end thereof; said inner carton being restrained by said indented corner portions against sliding movement in one direction within said sleeve during shipment thereof, and being supportable in elevated position by said indented corner portions when said container is m use.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said indented corner portions are provided adjacent the upper end of said sleeve; said inner carton and sleeve being adapted to be inverted for the dispensing of the contents of said inner carton.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which the height of said indented corner portions of the side walls of said sleeve being substantially equal to the difference in height between said sleeve and said inner carton.

4. The structure of claim 2 in which said sleeve is provided with horizontal corner slits spaced below said indented corner portions to define secondary support portions foldable inwardly into vertical alignment with the indented corner portions adjacent thereto for supporting said inner carton when said sleeve is slid upwardly with respect thereto and said sleeve and inner carton are inverted after said secondary support portions have been folded inwardly.

5. The structure of claim 1 in which said side panels and walls of said inner and outer cart-ons and said sleeve are of rectangular shape.

6. The structure of claim 5 in which said outer carton and sleeve are provided with aligned handle openings in the respective side panels and side walls thereof.

7. The structure of claim 6 in which said means comprises a tear strip extending horizontally around said outer carton below said handle openings thereof.

8. The structure of claim 1 in 'which said container in cludes a collapsible and substantiallyt ransparent plastic bag within said inner container, said inner container having an opening in the top wall thereof for access to said bag and the contents thereof.

9. The structure of claim 8 in which said inner carton and sleeve are provided with vertical aligned viewing windows permitting visual inspection of the level of the contents of said bag.

10. The structure of claim 1 in which one of said side walls of said sleeve adjacent the lower end thereof is diecut to define at least one fold out foot portion for supporting said sleeve and inner container in inclined position when the same are tipped on to said one side of said sleeve.

11. The structure of claim 10 in which a pair of fold out foot portions are die-cut in said one side wall of said sleeve.

12. In a dispensing container, an inner carton having top, bottom, and side panels of rectangular shape; a plastic bag disposed within said inner carton and being provided with removable closure means in the top thereof; the top panel of said inner carton being provided with an access opening for access to the removable closure means of said bag; and a support sleeve being open at its upper and lower ends and having side walls extending about the side panels of said inner carton in slidable frictiona-l engagement therewith; said sleeve being of substantially greater vertical dimensions than said inner carton and having an upper portion projecting upwardly above said inner carton; the side walls of said upper portion having inwardly indented corners to prevent upward sliding movement of said inner carton within said sleeve when said inner carton is in an upright position and to support said inner carton in spaced relation to a supporting surface when said inner carton and sleeve are in inverted positions.

13. The structure of claim 12 in which said plastic bag is formed of substantially transparent material; a side wall of said sleeve and a side wall of said inner carton having vertically elongated openings in alignment with each other for permitting visual inspection of the level of the contents of said transparent bag.

14. The structure of claim 12 in which an outer shipping carton extends about said sleeve and said inner carton; said outer shipping carton having internal vertical dimensions substantially the same as the vertical dimensions of said sleeve.

15. The structure of clairn 14 in which said upper portion of said sleeve is provided with at least one handle opening therein; said outer carton having a handle opening therein in register with the handle opening of said sleeve.

16. The structure of claim 12 in which one of the side walls of said sleeve adjacent the lower end thereof is diecut to dene outwardly foldable foot-forming -ap portions for supporting said sleeve and inner carton in inclined position when said sleeve and inner carton are tipped on to said one side of said sleeve.

17. The structure of claim 12 in which said support lner portions of said sleeve between saidslits and said upper portion comprising secondary support portions fold- Yable inwardly into vertical alignment with the indented corner portions of the sleeve for supporting said inner carton when said sleeve is slid upwardly with respect to said inner carton and when said secondary support portions are then folded inwardly and said inner carton and sleeve are inverted.

8 References Cited UNITED STATES P ATENTS 2,831,610 4/1958 Dennie 2294-14 2,861,718 lll/1958 WIIZCD n Z22-105 3,078,026 2/ 1963 Meinecke et al. 229--14 JOSEPH 1R. DECLAlKYPrz'mmy Examiner.

R. PESHOCK, Assistant Examiner'. 

1. A DISPENSING CONTAINER COMPRISING AN OUTER CARTON HAVING TOP, BOTTOM, AND SIDE PANELS; A SUPPORT SLEEVE DISPOSED WITHIN SAID CARTON; SAID SLEEVE BEING OPEN AT ITS UPPER AND LOWER ENDS AND HAVING SIDE WALLS IN SURFACE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE INSIDE SURFACES OF THE SIDE PANELS OF SAID OUTER CARTON; AN INNER CARTON HAING TOP, BOTTOM, AND SIDE PANELS AND BEING DISPOSED WITHIN SAID SLEEVE AND WITH THE SIDE PANELS THEREOF IN SLIDABLE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE SIDE WALLS OF THE SLEEVES; THE HEIGHT OF SAID OUTER CARTON AND SLEEVE BEING SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME, AND THE HEIGHT OF SAID INNER CARTON BEING SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THAT OF SAID SLEEVE; MEANS FOR OPENING SAID OUTER CARTON TO PERMIT REMOVAL OF SAID SLEEVE AND INNER CARTON THEREFROM; THE SIDE WALLS OF SAID SLEEVE HAVING INDENTED CORNER PORTIONS AT ONE END THEREOF; SAID INNER CARTON BEING RESTRAINED BY SAID INDENTED CORNER PORTIONS AGAINST SLIDING MOVEMENT IN ONE DIRECTION WITHIN SAID SLEEVE DURING SHIPMENT THEREOF, AND BEING SUPPORTABLE IN ELEVATED POSITION BY SAID INDENTED CORNER PORTIONS WHEN SAID CONTAINER IS IN USE. 